Good Morning, it’s 19 March 2018 and this is the Morning Edition of The Nightshift.Embed from Getty Images
The NCAA tournament this year is a minefield for top seeded teams. Yesterday, Number 1 Xavier lost to Florida State, UNC lost (big) to Texas A&M, Syracuse beat one of the pre-tournament favs, Michigan State (Syracuse had to play their way into the tournament…now they’re in the Sweet 16), Cinderella team UMBC lost to Kansas State, Clemson upset Auburn and on and on and on. Everyone’s bracket is busted, so don’t feel bad, enjoy the Madness. Check the scores out at SI.COM’s live bracket.

The usual suspects will say the usual things today in Washington, as the town ramps up for another week of deception, confrontation, recriminations, and inept management of government. Really–can’t we do better than this?

Today is National Let’s Laugh Day. You know what to do: tell a good joke or listen to one. Everyone needs a good laugh today.

The front pages (and sometimes more) of the world’s great English language newspapers are linked below. The International Headlines are all at your fingertips, below. As always, thanks for dropping by. We have added the English language feed of Agence France-Presse to the news index along with the McClatchy DC News Bureau.

The Fine Print: Embed image courtesy of our friends at Getty Images, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21s century on file and online. If you need an image, they are your source. This image has not been altered in any way. We thank them for sharing. This post is number 1701 for this site. The Nightshift is a continually evolving experiment in news communications and is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. It’s rapid iteration.Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world.

Good Afternoon, it’s 18 March 2018 and this is the Afternoon Edition of The Nightshift.Embed from Getty Images
More upsets and close games in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Loyola keeps moving up, beating Tennessee 63-62 yesterday. Upset kings UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County) will find out today, when they play Kentucky, just how far it’s possible for them to go. Gonzaga came back in the last minutes of the second half to beat Ohio State in another close one. The University of Houston lost to Michigan, 64-63, on a buzzer beater yesterday. Duke, UNC, Kentucky, Kansas, and Michigan State are all in action today.

Washington is on fire with all of the chaos and vitriol surrounding last’s week’s big events: the firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (he should be relieved) and the firing of former acting head of the FBI, Andrew McCabe, just hours before he was scheduled to retire (he should be pist). There’ll be more fallout in the coming weeks. Best to enjoy the NCAAs now.

The 12 Hours of Sebring sports car endurance race ran yesterday. A Nissan DPI won the overall title, and a Porsche 911 RSR took the highly contested GTLM class.

Today is National Awkward Moments Day. Fitting that it comes right after St. Patrick’s Day-who knows what you did or said on St. Patrick’s Day that could be considered an “awkward moment”. We’ve all had them. Next time you have one, just play the “I’m celebrating National Awkward Moments Day” card.

The front pages (and sometimes more) of the world’s great English language newspapers are linked below. The International Headlines are all at your fingertips, below. As always, thanks for dropping by. We have added the English language feed of Agence France-Presse to the news index along with the McClatchy DC News Bureau.

The Fine Print: Embed image courtesy of our friends at Getty Images, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21s century on file and online. If you need an image, they are your source. This image has not been altered in any way. We thank them for sharing. This post is number 1700 for this site. The Nightshift is a continually evolving experiment in news communications and is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. It’s rapid iteration.Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world.

On Thursday night, Jimmy Fallon pulled out a brilliant bit for the “Tonight Show” –a pep talk for the lowest rated team in the NCAA tournament that was playing a number one rated team. In this case, the lowest rated team was Texas Southern University of Houston a No. 16 seed (alma mater of musical star Jennifer Hudson and NFL football star turned TV personality, Michael Strahan); TSU was facing number 1 seed and top-rated Xavier in Friday’s round of the NCAA tournament. TSU hung in there for a while, but eventually Xavier had a run or two that TSU did not answer and won the game, 102-83. TSU had previously won their way into the tournament by beating North Carolina Central in one of four play-in games. The TSU Tigers put up a good show and while they didn’t win, they’ve got a pep talk that will be a part of TSU sports legend for decades. Well done to both Fallon and TSU.

The Fine Print: Video embed courtesy of our friends at YouTube, NBC, and The Tonight Show. It has not been altered in any way. All rights belong to their respective rights holders. We thank them for sharing.

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Good Afternoon, it’s 17 March 2018 and this is the Afternoon Edition of The Nightshift.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has fired former FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe, who was scheduled to retire on 18 March 2018 (that’s tomorrow). Sessions was under massive pressure from President Trump to fire McCabe, whose firing was recommended by the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility. There are lots of odd situations and interventions in the McCabe situation and we have not heard the last of it. Does he have Memos? Like everything in Washington these days, it’s messy. Sessions no doubt preserved his position for….at least the weekend. Oh my.

A number 16 seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament (University of Maryland-Baltimore, or “UMB”) pulled the upset of the decade, when they beat number 1 seed Virginia in the first round of the tournament. Did that bust your bracket? The tournament continues with play today (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday).

The 12 Hours of Sebring, America’s top endurance race, is on right now. The race is considered more difficult than the longer 24 Hours of Le Mans because the Sebring Track is rough, bumpy, and treacherous. Good luck to all of our pals at Ferrari (and Porsche and Corvette and Acura) racing there today.

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. You’re Irish, for the day, so celebrate. And–if you’re drinking, have a designated driver.

The front pages (and sometimes more) of the world’s great English language newspapers are linked below. The International Headlines are all at your fingertips, below. As always, thanks for dropping by. We have added the English language feed of Agence France-Presse to the news index along with the McClatchy DC News Bureau.

The Fine Print: Editor’s note: in an earlier edition of the Nightshift, we said that Texas Southern beat N.C. State. That was incorrect; Texas Southern beat North Carolina Central. Their next game is with Xavier, who is seeded No. 1 in the West bracket. Embed image courtesy of our friends at Getty Images, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21s century on file and online. If you need an image, they are your source. This image has not been altered in any way. We thank them for sharing. This post is number 1698 for this site. The Nightshift is a continually evolving experiment in news communications and is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. It’s rapid iteration.Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world.

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Good Morning, it’s Friday, 16 March 2018 and this is the Morning Edition of The Nightshift.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is head of the Russian election meddling probe, has subpoened the Trump Organization for documents relating to their relationships and business interactions with Russia.

Russian cyber attacks have moved on from mere election meddling; Russian hackers are allegedly targeting the U.S. utilities grid, including energy, water, and nuclear power facilities. Still–no sign of pushback from the U.S.

The first slate of NCAA games were played yesterday. Arizona was upset by Buffalo, Loyola-Chicago beat Miami, Texas Southern beat N.C.Central in a Tuesday “play-in” game and Gonzaga squeezed past UNC-Greensboro in the first round.

Today is National Panda Day….which is odd since most of the Pandas are in China and this is an American “national day”.

The front pages (and sometimes more) of the world’s great English language newspapers are linked below. The International Headlines are all at your fingertips, below. As always, thanks for dropping by. We have added the English language feed of Agence France-Presse to the news index along with the McClatchy DC News Bureau.

The Fine Print: Editor’s note: in an earlier edition of the Nightshift, we said that Texas Southern beat N.C. State. That was incorrect; Texas Southern beat North Carolina Central. Their next game is with Xavier, who is seeded No. 1 in the West bracket. Embed image courtesy of our friends at Getty Images, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21s century on file and online. If you need an image, they are your source. This image has not been altered in any way. We thank them for sharing. This post is number 1697 for this site. The Nightshift is a continually evolving experiment in news communications and is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. It’s rapid iteration.Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world.

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Good Morning, it’s Thursday, 15 March 2018 and this is the Morning Edition of The Nightshift.

Britain is expelling 23 Russian diplomats over the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy who was living in the U.K. Expect British diplomats to be expelled from Russia as a counter move.

Closing the toy box for good. National toy retailer Toys R Us (and subsidiary Babies R Us) is closing all of its stores and will layoff approximately 33,000 employees nationwide. The national chain–loved by generations of kids and parents–has been in bankruptcy for over a year. The company, unable to develop a feasible turnaround strategy, will instead shut down operations and liquidate. It is the end of 70 years of retail operations.

In other business news, Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of tech startup Theranos, has been charged with massive fraud by the SEC, fined $500,000 and banned from being involved in publicly held companies for a period of 10 years. Theranos famously had a blood testing machine that could provide a suite of diagnostic tests on a single pin prick of blood. The claims and technology proved to be overly ambitious. Holmes, who dropped out of Stanford at 19 to found Theranos, was once the billionaire princess of Silicon Valley.

I Heart Media, a goofy name for a company that owns 858 radio stations, has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The company absorbed a massive amount of debt when it was purchased in a leveraged buyout. The CEO is Bob Pittman, most famous for founding MTV. Pittman has been a bust as CEO but the real problem is simply the sheer number of radio stations the company owns. At one time, the FCC had rules which limited the number of broadcasting outlets a company could own or control; this ruling, in place for generations, was designed to prevent national radio/tv monopolies from developing and to keep radio/tv ownership focused on the communities in which the stations operated. Big firms like I Heart Media took advantage of relaxed ownership rules to buy up stations all over the country (for debt, of course) and control programming and sales operations from a central location, taking the “local” out of operations and desensitizing their outlets to local events, culture, and coverage. The strategy bombed spectacularly and the company was unable to service the massive debt it piled up. Simple solution to this problem: Put ownership limits back in place. Bigger is not always better, despite what some LBO specialists say.

The NCAA tournament starts full rounds of play today. Finish your brackets by noon, Eastern.

Today is National Everything You Think Is Wrong Day…a chance to, perhaps, re-calibrate our thoughts. One of the sites that follows “National Days” was unable to ascertain the creator of the day. Just as well…they’d probably be wrong.

The front pages (and sometimes more) of the world’s great English language newspapers are linked below. The International Headlines are all at your fingertips, below. As always, thanks for dropping by. We have added the English language feed of Agence France-Presse to the news index along with the McClatchy DC News Bureau.

The Fine Print: Embed image courtesy of our friends at Getty Images, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21s century on file and online. If you need an image, they are your source. This image has not been altered in any way. We thank them for sharing. This post is number 1695 for this site. The Nightshift is a continually evolving experiment in news communications and is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. It’s rapid iteration.Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world.

Paying Attention:Embed from Getty Images
Clothing brand Tommy Hilfiger–bet you have something from Tommy in your closet–has embraced the new future of retailing with an advanced program that allows consumers to buy the items seen in fashion shows the day they see it. To do this, the company, behind Brand Visionary Avery Baker uses a very sophisticated mix of social media, high-speed manufacturing, innovative web sites, and celebrity endorsers to spike its’ growth. The entire story–which is both a cautionary tale for those not moving fast enough and a guidebook for those who wish to do so–is from Bloomberg and available via this link.

The Fine Print: Visual embed courtesy of our friends at GettyImages.Com, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21st Century on File. If you need a photo–or a group of photos–you would be wise to check them out. This photo has not been altered in any way. We thank them for sharing. This post is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker, (c) 2016, Donald Pierce, all rights reserved. Thanks for reading.

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Good Morning, it’s Wednesday, 14 March 2018 and this is the Morning Edition of The Nightshift.

Dr. Stephen Hawking has died. The brilliant physicist, whose mind changed the way we view the universe, has died at the age of 76. Hawking overcome massive physical disabilities (he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, i.e. Lou Gehrig’s disease) to become perhaps the most noted scientist of our time.

In news from other minds not so brilliant, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired yesterday by President Donald Trump (via Twitter, not face-to-face) in a move that many saw coming for months. Mike Pompeo, currently head of the CIA, will be nominated as the new Secretary of State. Tillerson and Trump did not see eye-to-eye on almost anything and Tillerson was noticeably out of the loop on big foreign policy initiatives (like the proposed talks with North Korea). Rex Tillerson was formerly the head of Exxon Mobil and his skills as an executive did not appear to translate into skills as a diplomat. It was a bad career move for Tillerson to join the Trump White House but at least it has been brought to an end. The State department suffered a large losses in experienced personnel under Tillerson and many jobs there remain unfilled. Pompeo and Trump agree on many areas of foreign policy, although Pompeo–a West Point graduate–is a hawk on Russia. Be interesting to see how that works out.

The first two games of the NCAA tournament were played yesterday, Radford surprised LIU Brooklyn and St. Bonaventure took down UCLA. There are two more play-in games today, with Texas Southern vs. North Carolina Central and Syracuse playing Arizona State. Tomorrow, the full field goes into action.

Today is National Potato Chip Day. Grab a bag and celebrate. And, if you’re on a no-carb diet, it’s also National Write Down Your Story Day. There’s a pen and paper on top of the desk.

The front pages (and sometimes more) of the world’s great English language newspapers are linked below. The International Headlines are all at your fingertips, below. As always, thanks for dropping by. We have added the English language feed of Agence France-Presse to the news index along with the McClatchy DC News Bureau.

The Fine Print: Embed image courtesy of our friends at Getty Images, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21s century on file and online. If you need an image, they are your source. This image has not been altered in any way. We thank them for sharing. This post is number 1694 for this site. The Nightshift is a continually evolving experiment in news communications and is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. It’s rapid iteration.Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world.

Good Morning, it’s Tuesday, 13 March 2018 and this is the Morning Edition of The Nightshift.

Hubert de Givenchy, one of the very best fashion designers of our time, has died. Givenchy, known for his elegant style, dressed fashion icons like Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. He was 91.

The Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 elections have decided to wrap up the investigation, noting that they have not found any “collusion”. Of course–typical for today’s breed of ineffective, sycophantic Republicans–they didn’t look too hard and took all their orders from the White House. Resignation of all Republican members would be a good way to wipe some of the Republican stain off the committee.

Five people died in a helicopter crash in New York City. The helicopter went down in the waters surrounding Manhattan. The five victims were all tightly harnessed into the helicopter, because it was flying with its’ doors off, were unable to free themselves once the helicopter hit the water; the pilot survived. Investigators are on the scene and trying to sort out the reason for the crash.

President Tump has blocked Broadcom’s proposed acquisition of U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm. The deal was valued at over $100 billion. Trump blocked the transaction with Singapore based Broadcom over national security concerns. Trump also backpedaled from his stance on gun control after meeting with the NRA, overturning his early commitment to changing the gun laws. No surprise there for the guy who’s not afraid of the NRA.

The first two “play-in” games of the NCAA tournament are scheduled for today. The”Madness begins”.

Today is National Good Samaritan Day, the perfect time to thank those who help others for the purest of reasons.

The front pages (and sometimes more) of the world’s great English language newspapers are linked below. The International Headlines are all at your fingertips, below. As always, thanks for dropping by. We have added the English language feed of Agence France-Presse to the news index along with the McClatchy DC News Bureau.

The Fine Print: Embed image courtesy of our friends at Getty Images, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21s century on file and online. If you need an image, they are your source. This image has not been altered in any way. We thank them for sharing. This post is number 1693 for this site. The Nightshift is a continually evolving experiment in news communications and is a production of Perception Engineering and The Media Bunker. It’s rapid iteration.Thanks for reading. Now–catch up on the world.

“If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got…..”

--Albert Einstein (take some advice from one of the smartest people, ever)